Ev charger advice
Discussion
Hi,
I’m looking to get a charger installed but need something discrete as I live in a conservation area.
The charger is likely to go on the front of the house rather than in the attached garage (where the meter cupboard is sited , with the consumer unit on the internal house side of the garage wall.
I thought about an Andersen but the a3 looks quite a large size. I’ve also seen the Sync link which has a box that is placed inside (eg my garage) with a much smaller remote charging socket that could go outside.
I will likely need to arrange a local electrician to do the install to give me flexibility over the device rather than go with the likes of a nationwide company such as octopus.
If I go down this route what I would like to understand is what are the requirements/ regulations that the electrician needs to meet. I don’t want to leave it to chance / assume they will do everything correctly.
For example I’ve seen another thread today where someone has what looks like a new mini consumer unit fed from the meter cupboard, that then feeds the charger. I’d assumed the ev would be fed from a spare slot on my existing consumer unit. Is that not the case?
Basically I’m after any checklist / guidance I can follow to understand what I need to ask for or expect?
Thanks
I’m looking to get a charger installed but need something discrete as I live in a conservation area.
The charger is likely to go on the front of the house rather than in the attached garage (where the meter cupboard is sited , with the consumer unit on the internal house side of the garage wall.
I thought about an Andersen but the a3 looks quite a large size. I’ve also seen the Sync link which has a box that is placed inside (eg my garage) with a much smaller remote charging socket that could go outside.
I will likely need to arrange a local electrician to do the install to give me flexibility over the device rather than go with the likes of a nationwide company such as octopus.
If I go down this route what I would like to understand is what are the requirements/ regulations that the electrician needs to meet. I don’t want to leave it to chance / assume they will do everything correctly.
For example I’ve seen another thread today where someone has what looks like a new mini consumer unit fed from the meter cupboard, that then feeds the charger. I’d assumed the ev would be fed from a spare slot on my existing consumer unit. Is that not the case?
Basically I’m after any checklist / guidance I can follow to understand what I need to ask for or expect?
Thanks
Converse2020 said:
Hi,
I m looking to get a charger installed but need something discrete as I live in a conservation area.
The charger is likely to go on the front of the house rather than in the attached garage (where the meter cupboard is sited , with the consumer unit on the internal house side of the garage wall.
I thought about an Andersen but the a3 looks quite a large size. I ve also seen the Sync link which has a box that is placed inside (eg my garage) with a much smaller remote charging socket that could go outside.
I will likely need to arrange a local electrician to do the install to give me flexibility over the device rather than go with the likes of a nationwide company such as octopus.
If I go down this route what I would like to understand is what are the requirements/ regulations that the electrician needs to meet. I don t want to leave it to chance / assume they will do everything correctly.
For example I ve seen another thread today where someone has what looks like a new mini consumer unit fed from the meter cupboard, that then feeds the charger. I d assumed the ev would be fed from a spare slot on my existing consumer unit. Is that not the case?
Basically I m after any checklist / guidance I can follow to understand what I need to ask for or expect?
Thanks
Most experienced electricians will use a new small mini consumer unit. Many reasons, but primarily it avoids updating old regulation consumer units.I m looking to get a charger installed but need something discrete as I live in a conservation area.
The charger is likely to go on the front of the house rather than in the attached garage (where the meter cupboard is sited , with the consumer unit on the internal house side of the garage wall.
I thought about an Andersen but the a3 looks quite a large size. I ve also seen the Sync link which has a box that is placed inside (eg my garage) with a much smaller remote charging socket that could go outside.
I will likely need to arrange a local electrician to do the install to give me flexibility over the device rather than go with the likes of a nationwide company such as octopus.
If I go down this route what I would like to understand is what are the requirements/ regulations that the electrician needs to meet. I don t want to leave it to chance / assume they will do everything correctly.
For example I ve seen another thread today where someone has what looks like a new mini consumer unit fed from the meter cupboard, that then feeds the charger. I d assumed the ev would be fed from a spare slot on my existing consumer unit. Is that not the case?
Basically I m after any checklist / guidance I can follow to understand what I need to ask for or expect?
Thanks
While talking regulations revision 4 has just come out. There are quite a few EV related changes, so I would check out someone SOTA electrical he talks a good charger install and does Anderson. He is on YouTube.
Much of the advice on here will most likely be out of date. I haven’t had a chance to myself to consider the v4 impact on what is needed.
Andersen leap to mind simply for the aesthetic and choice of colours.
Remember they do an untethered charger if you want something smaller as most of the space on the larger chargers is for cable storage.
On regulations remember you have to register with your DNO and get approval for a new charger and there are EV specific regs and qualifications so to get it done properly you need a registered installer - it's not just "mate of a mate' stuff.
Remember they do an untethered charger if you want something smaller as most of the space on the larger chargers is for cable storage.
On regulations remember you have to register with your DNO and get approval for a new charger and there are EV specific regs and qualifications so to get it done properly you need a registered installer - it's not just "mate of a mate' stuff.
I have a Simpson & Partner 7Kw plus charger on the front of my house.
It’s untethered as I don’t want the wire cluttering up the front of the house and works really well with Octopus.
I used to use have the car integrated with Octopus but BMW being BMW, they changed the way providers like Octopus connect to them and this made the scheduling very unreliable, so now I have the charger integrated with Octopus and it works flawlessly every time.
As stated, get a certified electrician to install it and they will sort out the DNO side of things.
It’s untethered as I don’t want the wire cluttering up the front of the house and works really well with Octopus.
I used to use have the car integrated with Octopus but BMW being BMW, they changed the way providers like Octopus connect to them and this made the scheduling very unreliable, so now I have the charger integrated with Octopus and it works flawlessly every time.
As stated, get a certified electrician to install it and they will sort out the DNO side of things.
Whether you can use your existing consumer unit depends on the consumer unit.
I can't use mine because whilst I have a spare "way" it doesn't have enough room for the safety devices you also need.
So for many people the cost effective way to do the install is to "tap" the supply coming out the meter and take it off to a smaller consumer unit just for the EV charger and between that and the charger all the safety requirements are covered.
I can't use mine because whilst I have a spare "way" it doesn't have enough room for the safety devices you also need.
So for many people the cost effective way to do the install is to "tap" the supply coming out the meter and take it off to a smaller consumer unit just for the EV charger and between that and the charger all the safety requirements are covered.
I'd honestly focus less on the consumer unit side and more on finding a good EV installer. They'll know whether it makes sense to run from a spare way in your existing board or fit a small dedicated EV consumer unit near the meter... both are completely normal.
For a conservation area, I'd be asking about cable routing more than anything. A discreet charger can still look messy if you've got trunking running across the front of the house.
The Andersen is probably still the nicest-looking option, but the Sync Link is a clever idea if you want the minimum amount of hardware visible outside.
I'd also check with your local planning department before committing to a front-of-house location. It may be absolutely fine, but it's easier to ask first than have an awkward conversation later!
For a conservation area, I'd be asking about cable routing more than anything. A discreet charger can still look messy if you've got trunking running across the front of the house.
The Andersen is probably still the nicest-looking option, but the Sync Link is a clever idea if you want the minimum amount of hardware visible outside.
I'd also check with your local planning department before committing to a front-of-house location. It may be absolutely fine, but it's easier to ask first than have an awkward conversation later!
Converse2020 said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
I have asked our usual electrician for guidance and my ask was to get me informed before I talk to him, but I suspect from reading between the lines I need to find an EV qualified electrician rather than a regular electrician.
Plenty of regular sparkies will fit an EV charger well too! Have a chat with your usual guy and see what he says. I have asked our usual electrician for guidance and my ask was to get me informed before I talk to him, but I suspect from reading between the lines I need to find an EV qualified electrician rather than a regular electrician.
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